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Accreditations 8:00 - 8:45 Morning Sessions. Auditorio Manuel Belgrano, Cancillería Argentina, Esmeralda 1212.
8:45 - 9:45 Inaugural Session
Video Welcome to Argentina
Welcome from Principal Sponsoring Organizations: G20 Interfaith Forum Executive Committee. Brian Adams, Director for Interfaith & Cultural Dialogue, Griffith University, Australia.
Etica y Economia. Cristina Calvo, Co-chair Ethics and Economics and Director of the International Program for Democracy, Society and New Economies (PIDESONE-UBA), Argentina.
International Shinto Foundation. Representing Dr Haruhisa Handa, Patron of G20 Interfaith Forum, Ambassador Brendan Scannell, Ireland. Message delivered by Kevin O'Brien, Country Director, International Shinto Foundation. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID). Faisal bin Abdulrahman Muaammar, Secretary General, Saudi Arabia.
Welcome Address on behalf of Argentine Government Vice President of the Nation, Gabriela Michetti.
Greetings Pope Francis, read by Monsignor Carlos Malfa , Secretary General of the Argentine Episcopal Conference. Patriarch Bartholomew (video). Elijah Brown, Secretary General, Baptist World Alliance (video).
9:45 - 11:00 First Plenary Session Religions and Emerging Global Challenges, Part I.
The fundamental premise of the G20 Interfaith Forum initiative is that the G20 process can be strengthened by providing a platform for religious voices to identify key policy initiatives for that process and to make constructive recommendations based on the experience and capacity of religious communities. In this year’s Forum, we have the privilege and opportunity of listening to a number of leading figures from major religious traditions around the world, and look forward to benefiting from their experience and their insight into current issues being addressed in the G20 process, as well as from their recommendations as to how more effective collaboration among religions and with public authorities can be achieved.
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Chair: Pastor Sonia Skupch, President, Ecumenical Commission of Christian Churches in Argentina (CEICA). Dr. Rowan Williams, Chair of Christian Aid and Former Archbishop of Canterbury, UK Cardinal Pedro Barreto, Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), Peru. Kiran Bali, Global Chair for United Religions Initiative (URI), India. Claudio Epelman, Executive Director, Latin American Jewish Congress, World Jewish Congress, Argentina.
Abdullah Al Lheedan, Cultural Exchange Program, Saudi Arabia.
11:00 - 11:15 Musical Interlude
11:15 - 12:30 Religions and Emerging Global Challenges, Part II.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Quorum of Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, USA. Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, Ecumenical Patriarchate, France. Rev. Dr. Chris Ferguson, General Secretary, World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), Canada. Rev. Gloria Ulloa, President, Latin America and Caribbean World Council of Churches, Colombia.
12:30 - 12:45 Forum Photo
12:45 - 13:30 Reception. Foreign Affairs Ministry
14:30 - 16:00 Second Plenary Session The Future of Work and the Urgent Challenges of Inequality and the Vulnerable. Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel and Convention Center, San Martín 1225/1275.
The core agenda for the G20 Interfaith Forum is the central quest for equity and equality, in keeping with the 2030 Global Agenda. This plenary will lay out and explore the central themes. A leading priority set by Argentina for the 2018 G20 is to address the challenge presented by new technologies to ‘sustained inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all’ (SDG 8). Traditional work is changing rapidly and education systems must adapt to prepare and train people for life and work in the 21st Century. Religious perspectives can contribute much on the nature of innovation, addressing overt and hidden discrimination, the changing demands of business ethics in a contemporary setting, how to achieve ‘decent work’, education for ‘people on the move’, especially refugees, and to ending different forms of modern slavery. This plenary brings together religious perspectives and others committed to ensuring that the most vulnerable are included in all thinking about work and society and that decent work is a core imperative. How might governments and religious communities work together more effectively to implement decent work and education agendas and end slavery in all its forms?
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Chair: Jorge Triaca, Argentine Secretary of Labor. Gustavo Béliz, Inter-American Development Bank, Argentina. Ganoune Diop, General Secretary, International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA), USA. Kevin Hyland, former Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner UK, and former Head of London Metropolitan Police Service’s Human Trafficking Unit, UK. Silvia Mazzarelli, Programs and Network Coordinator for Latin America, Global Network of Religions for Children, Arigatou International, Panama. Juan Somavía, former Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), Chile.
14:30 - 14:45 High Level Dialogue on Ethics and Economics Episcopal Conference of Argentina (CEA), Suipacha 1032.
Opening of the 4th High Level Dialogue on Ethics and Economics Welcome: Mons. Jorge Lozano, Archbishop of San Juan, Episcopal Commission of Social Pastoral of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina (CEA), Argentina. Cristina Calvo –Co-chair Ethics and Economics and Director of the International Program for Democracy, Society and New Economies (PIDESONE-UBA), Argentina.
Humberto Shikiya, Board of Directors, CREAS - ACT ALIANZA, Argentina.
14:45 - 16:00 International Financial Architecture The international financial architecture should promote the inclusion of the most disadvantaged people in contexts of multifaceted inequalities to favor conditions in the real economy and not in the speculative financial market. The UNEP Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System initiated by United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) has reaffirmed that the global financial system needs reshaping to finance an inclusive, prosperous and environmentally sound future. This panel explores different contributions to transform the international financial architecture, for an economy of life and sustainable development. Chair: Elena López Ruf, Coordinator for “Religion and Development”, Centro Ecuménico de Asesoría y Servicio (CREAS), Argentina.
Armando Di Filippo, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America – (UN ECLAC). Rev. Darío Barolín, Executive Secretary, Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of Latin America (AIPRAL), Uruguay. Ignacio Carballo, Professor in Financial Inclusion, Microfinance and Development, Catholic University of Argentina (UCA).
16:00 - 16:30 Coffee break
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16:30 - 17:45 Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel and Convention Center, San Martín 1225/1275.
Parallel session 2.1. Dignified Work. Over a lifetime, a large percentage of an individual’s time will be spent in a workplace. Division, argument, unhappiness and dissent can potentially compromise the effectiveness of any business or organization. This session will consider strategies which can be deployed to promote the concept of dignity in the workplace, with particular reference to religion and belief. Key issues include non-discriminatory hiring and firing, religious dress, dietary requirements, washing and praying, and holy days and days of rest. The future of work cannot be fully addressed without taking into account sensitivities of religious workers and religious employers. Employers need to be religiously literate and sensitive to those actually or potentially in their employ. Employees need to be sensitive to religious issues that sometimes affect their employers and often affect co-workers. Through it all, there is a growing need to develop appropriate principles for striking a fair balance among the interests of all concerned. Chair: Carlos Custer, Former Secretary General, World Confederation of Labour (WCL), Argentina. Richard Foltin, Senior Scholar for Religious Freedom, Religious Freedom Center, Freedom Forum Institute, USA. Mark Hill, Honorary Professor of Law, Cardiff University; formerly Visiting Fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge; Extraordinary Professor, The University of Pretoria, UK. Juan Martin Vives, Director, Center for Studies on Law and Religion, Universidad Adventista Del Plata, Argentina.
Parallel session 2.2. Religion, Business & Sustainable Development. Business is a powerful force for improving the lives of people around the world. And many business people are motivated by faith. They can view life holistically, where what they do from Monday to Friday flows from their religious convictions. Such holism can impact not only their ethics but also their priorities and practice. This multi-faith panel of business leaders will discuss the practical challenges at the intersection of religion and business, the difficulties they face as people of faith who also have to make a profit, and ways business and religious leaders can work together to strengthen human rights, sustainable development and reach the most vulnerable in our communities. Chair: Brian Grim, President, Religious Freedom and Business Foundation, USA. Mohamed Amersi, Founder & CEO of Emergent Telecom Ventures; Head of the Amersi Foundation. Eduardo Elztain, Chairman, IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones; Vice President, World Jewish Congress, Argentina. Roberto Murchison, CEO, Grupo Murchison, Argentina. Juan Vaquer, President, Asociación Cristiana de Dirigentes de Empresa (ACDE), Argentina.
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Parallel session 2.3. Human Traffic and Modern Forms of Slavery: Urgent Challenges, Urgent Responses. International Shinto Foundation is the principal sponsor of this panel. The scandal of modern slavery, often ‘hidden before our eyes’, demands bold and determined action. With specific goals set out in the UN’s Global Agenda, G20 governments are all committed to its eradication. In summer of 2015 Argentina, the Holy See, and the UK worked together (something of a first), insisting that SDG 8.7 be included prominently among the SDGs: ‘immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labor in all its forms’. Likewise, SDG 5.2 and 16.2 address violence, trafficking, and exploitation of women and girls. Calling modern slavery ‘a crime against humanity’, Pope Francis plays a key role with other leaders including Patriarch Bartholomew, the Archbishop of Canterbury, religious sister orders, and faith-inspired organizations. These goals can only be achieved through actions designed to eradicate this form of exploitation once and for all, but three years on from when 193 countries unanimously endorsed the SDGs, progress is slow. Commitments need to move from words on the page to determined action and accountability. What is being done and what are the next steps? Chair: Kevin Hyland, former Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner UK, and former Head of London Metropolitan Police Service’s Human Trafficking Unit, UK. Kristina Arriaga, Vice Chair, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). John McCarthy, Australian Ambassador to the Holy See (2012-2016), Chairman Sydney Archdiocese Anti-Slavery Task Force, Australia. Nancy Mónzon, No a la Trata (No to Trafficking), Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, Argentina.
Parallel Session 2.4. Religion and Anti-Discrimination Norms. In an increasingly pluralistic world, anti-discrimination norms take on a double character. On the one hand, preventing religious discrimination is deeply woven into the history of anti-discrimination standards. On the other hand, there is a growing tendency to ignore the importance of religious protections when anti-discrimination norms focused on other characteristics come into play. This session will discuss balancing religious freedom rights against claims for protection of other non-discrimination claims. The challenge is to see whether underlying principles can be identified that can minimize the burdens of invidious discrimination for all. Chair: W. Cole Durham, Jr., Founding Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS), Brigham Young University, USA.
Carmen Asiaín Pereira, Senator, Uruguay. Ganoune Diop, Secretary General, International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA), USA. Joelle Fiss, Independent Human Rights Analyst and Member of the OSCE Panel of
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Experts on Freedom of Religion. H. Knox Thames, Special Advisor for Religious Minorities in the Near East and South/Central Asia, United States Department of State. Rodrigo Vitorino Souza Alves, Professor, Law Faculty, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia; Director, Brazilian Center of Studies in Law and Religion.
16:30 - 17:45 Ethics and Economics Episcopal Conference of Argentina (CEA), Suipacha 1032.
Eco-Economy: A New Style of Development. The Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System initiated by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), points out some key steps that could align the purpose and impact of the financial system to serve the real economy in transition to sustainable development. This panel aims to raise awareness about the different financial instruments that generate a triple impact (economic, social and environmental) for the preservation of the environment and the promotion of development for local communities. What new proposals and practices are being consolidated to be replicable and contextualized? How policy decisions could collaborate to align the financial system with sustainable development? Chair: Humberto Ortiz, Caritas Latin America Secretary (SELACC – CARITAS). Rev. Dr. Chris Ferguson, General Secretary, World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). Card. Pedro Barreto, Pan-Amazonian Church Network (REPAM - CELAM). Sofia Heinone - The Conservation Land Trust (CLT) Case Study: Future Iberá National Park. René Mauricio Valdés, Argentina Coordinator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
18:00 - 19:30 Parallel sessions second group Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel and Convention Center, San Martín 1225/1275.
Parallel session 2.5. Innovation and Why Religious Voices Matter.
Innovation is a driving force of the future, promising to transform the economic world and to disrupt contemporary patterns of employment in unpredictable ways. This session will address the role that religion plays in stimulating, contributing to, but also providing critical reactions to innovation and its impact on the social world. It will explore ways that religion can provide creative ways to achieve reasonable accommodation in workplace settings, as well as broader insight into religion’s role in dealing with diversity. The session will also address ways that religion can help cultivate appropriate ethical constraints and values that should be taken into account as new technologies using artificial intelligence assume a more pervasive place in the economic and social world. Religion is often in a position to provide longer term perspectives on issues too often viewed through short-term filters.
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Chair: Gary Doxey, Associate Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, USA. Katayoun Alidadi, Assistant Professor of Legal Studies, Bryant University, USA; Research Partner, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle, Germany. Peter Petkoff, Director of Religion, Law and International Relations Programme, Regent’s Park College, Oxford, UK.
Marco Ventura, Professor of Law and Religion, University of Siena, Italy. Rodrigo Vitorino Souza Alves, Professor, Law Faculty, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia; Director, Brazilian Center of Studies in Law and Religion.
Parallel session 2.6. Modern Exodus: Ethical Facets and Action Imperatives for Refugees and Migration. The forced movement of large populations in many world regions creates both pain and suffering for those on the move and for the societies that host them. The G20 offers the opportunity to look soberly and boldly at the refugee and migration challenge, underscoring both ethical and practical challenges ahead. The impact falls most heavily on vulnerable groups, notably children. The global community is on the cusp of formalizing two far-ranging compacts, one for refugees and one for migrants. Religious actors need to be seen as central to this agenda-setting process. Deeply held religious traditions focus on welcoming the stranger, and religious communities worldwide play large if often unseen roles in supporting refugees and migrants and the communities that host them. This session will explore how religious communities are responding to the crisis, ways in which their actions could be stronger, and why the religious dimensions are significant.
Chair: Mons. Crisóstomo Ghassali, Archbishop, Syriac Orthodox Church, Argentina.
Jean Duff, Coordinator, Joint Learning Initiative, USA. Cesar Jaramillo, Executive Director, Project Ploughshares, Canada. Alberto Quattrucci, Secretary General of Peoples and Religions, Sant’Egidio Community, Italy. Sturla Stålsett, Professor of Religion, Society and Diaconal Studies at the MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society in Oslo, Norway.
Waldo Villalpando, Consejo Argentino para la Libertad Religiosa (CALIR), Argentina.
Parallel session 2.7. Children: A Common Imperative for G20 Engagement.
In May 2017 religious actors from across the globe, assembled in Panama, affirmed a common commitment to end violence against children. Their determination to act should serve as an inspiration for G20 leaders to keep children at the center of their agenda. The year 2019 will mark the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The G20 Interfaith will highlight examples of religious action on critical issues facing children in refugee and displacement situations, trafficking, and the silent tragedy of child poverty in even the wealthiest communities. It will likewise highlight the roles of families and mothers, especially. How can the global community do better for its children?
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Chair: Gabriel Castelli, Secretary of Childhood and Family, Argentine Government. Silvia Mazzarelli, Programs and Network Coordinator for Latin America, Global Network of Religions for Children Arigatou International, Panama. Welinton Pereira, Director of Advocacy and Adjunct National Director, World Vision, Brazil. Tina Ramirez, President, Hardwired, Inc., USA. Rosalina Tuyuc Velasquez, CONAVIGUA, Indigenous Leader and Human Rights Activist, Guatemala.
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9:00 - 10:30 Third Plenary Session Caring for the Earth: Climate Change’s Multiple Challenges and Religious Roles. The inescapable realities of the earth’s changing climate threaten to dominate all global agendas, including the imperatives of addressing inequality and ending hunger. The earth’s “lungs”, the rainforests, are at risk and the vulnerable suffer first and directly. The challenges facing global leaders and communities are, above all, ethical, demanding shifts in conscience and translating conscience to action. The capacity to translate ethical teachings into action is one area where religious communities share common approaches and hold vast potential for positive, global impact. This session will explore practical ways in which religious voices can bolster flagging political and economic will, highlighting bold initiatives like Laudato Si! and the rainforest initiative. Chair: Rabbi Sergio Bergman, Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development, Argentine Government Cardinal Pedro Barreto, Vice President of the Pan-Amazonic Ecclesial Network of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), Peru. Maria Eugenia Di Paola, Coordinator of the Environment and Sustainable Development Program, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Argentina. Gloria Ulloa, Ecumenical Water Network, President, Latin America and Caribbean World Council of Churches, Colombia.
9:00 - 10:30 Ethics and Economics Episcopal Conference of Argentina (CEA), Suipacha 1032.
Structural Inequalities and Paradigms of Development “Leaving no one behind” is the core goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2015. In that occasion it was recognized that eradicating inequalities, inequity, poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. This session will analyze the contribution of religions in the creation of new paradigms of development. The experiences promoted and accompanied by Faith Based Organizations (FBO) and religious communities account for new development narratives that contribute to overcoming inequalities and contributing to significant transformations at the level of community life. Chair: Mara Luz, Director Latin America and Caribbean, Christian Aid. Dr. Rowan Williams, Chair of Christian Aid and Former Archbishop of Canterbury, UK. Gabriela Catterberg - Director of the National Human Development Program - United Nations Development Program - Argentina. Fr. Augusto Zampini, Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development Jorge Arturo Chaves, Director, Centro Dominico de Investigación, Costa Rica.
10:30 - 11:00 Coffee break
11:00 - 12:30 Ethics and Economics Episcopal Conference of Argentina (CEA), Suipacha 1032.
Closing of the 4th Dialogue of Ethics and Economics.
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Humberto Shikiya, Board of Directors, CREAS - ACT ALIANZA, Argentina.
Cristina Calvo, Co-chair Ethics and Economics and Director of the International Program for Democracy, Society and New Economies (PIDESONE-UBA), Argentina.
Gary Doxey, Associate Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, USA.
11:00 - 12:30 Parallel sessions Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel and Convention Center, San Martín 1225/1275.
Parallel session 3.1. Religious Approaches to Climate Change. The looming threats posed by the changing climate demand both a new ethic of care and practical action. Religious actors bring powerful witness to the impact of climate change for poor communities and the resulting ethical imperatives to change course. Further, religious organizations are, in many instances, best equipped to implement climate change response programs, particularly in the poorest communities. This session will focus on practical experience, highlighting both moral and ethical perspectives, examples of specific action programs and important partners with which G20 leaders can work for practicable climate change response. Chair: Mons. Jorge Lozano, Archbishop of San Juan, Episcopal Commission of Social Pastoral of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina (CEA), Argentina.
Elias Abramides, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Argentina. Lorena Echagüe, Justicia y Paz, Argentina. Yoshinobu Miyake, Superior General, Konko Church of Izuo, Japan.
Parallel session 3.2. To End Hunger: Religious Teaching, Religious Action. When crises strike, religious communities are often first to provide essential aid, because transnational faith-inspired humanitarian organizations have deep experience in the opportunities and pitfalls of response. Religious communities serve those in need across the world with a sweeping variety of programs, often at a fraction of the cost of similar government-run programs. But their experience and networks are under appreciated. The experienced and moral voice of religious actors has much to contribute to “Ending hunger by 2030” (UN SDG 2). This panel will reflect on where global advocacy and action stand on this critical goal, focusing on humanitarian emergencies (Venezuela, Yemen, Nigeria, for example) and the often hidden dimensions of hunger – child malnutrition and rural hunger. Chair: Stephanie Hochstetter, Director for the Rome-based Agencies and Committee on Food Security , World Food Programme, Italy. Elizabeta Kitanovic, Executive Secretary for Human Rights and Communication, Council of European Churches, Belgium. Paul Morris, UNESCO Chair in Inter-Religious Understanding and Relations, Victoria University of Wellington, NZ. Imam Sayed Razawi, Director General, Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society, UK. Eduardo Serantes, Former Director of Caritas, Argentina. Metropolitan Emmanuel – France. His Eminence, Metropolitan Emmanuel of France; G20 Interfaith Forum Organizing Committee. Metropolitan Tarasios, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Buenos Aires and Exarch of South America
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Parallel session 3.3. The Imperatives of Better Governance: Fighting Corruption is a Sine Qua Non for Global Agendas. No topic is more discussed today across the world than the scourge of corruption. It takes different forms in different settings but everywhere it fuels anger and cynicism and undermines efforts to advance on virtually any front, including fighting poverty and supporting those left behind. Fighting corruption thus belongs at the center of the G20 agenda. And in that fight religious actors can be powerful allies, both to highlight the daily corrosive effects of corruption on poor communities and to build on shared ethical teachings to bolster effective action. This is linked, of course, to imperatives for religious actors to address corruption problems within their own communities in addition to making important contributions to broader community, national, and global agendas. This session builds on the April 2018 Cumbre de las Americas where governance and corruption were a central focus and points to core themes for the global International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) scheduled for Copenhagen in October 2018. Chair: Álvaro Albacete, Deputy Secretary General, KAICIID, Spain. Seamus Finn, Chair of the Board, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). Mussie Hailu, Global Envoy of United Religions Initiative (URI), Continental Director for United Religions Initiative (URI)-Africa and URI Representative to the African Nation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Katherine Marshall, Senior Fellow, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Georgetown University, USA. Elias Szczytnicki, Secretary General and Regional Director, Religions for Peace, Latin America, Peru.
Parallel session 3.4. From Pomp to Policy: The Value of Interreligious Work in the 21st Century. Interfaith dialogue has been an increasingly frequent feature of religious public life around the world for at least 125 years. Over this period, interfaith dialogue has grown from the “pomp and circumstance” of symbolic gatherings of religious leaders to programs of action and intervention that strive to influence government policy and social norms. The G20 Interfaith Forum is one such effort, demonstrating the significant contributions religious actors can make in addressing global economic and development issues. This panel brings together leading interfaith practitioners from around the world to share practical examples of how interfaith dialogue has benefited communities and to answer the question, “How can interfaith dialogue strengthen G20 decision making and achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals?” Chair: Alfredo Abriani, National Secretary of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs, Argentina.
Omar Abboud, Co-Chair, Instituto para el Diálogo Interreligioso, Argentina. Sheikh Sayyid Ibrahimul Bukhari, Founder and Chairman, Ma’din Academy, India. James Christie, Professor of Whole World Ecumenism and Dialogue Theology, University of Winnipeg, Canada.
Martha de Antueno, Confraternidad Argentina Judeo Cristiana- Diálogo Ciudadano. Emilio Inzaurraga, President of the National Justice and Peace Comission. Argentina.
Rabbi Marcelo Polakoff, Congreso Judío Latinoamericano (CJL), Argentina. Raúl Scialabba, President, Consejo Argentino para la Libertad Religiosa (CALIR), Argentina.
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14:00 - 15:30 Fourth Plenary Session Religious Freedom, Religious Vitality, and Religious Contributions to the G20 Agenda. Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel and Convention Center, San Martín 1225/1275. Anyone familiar with Argentina’s priorities for this year’s G20 summit, with longer term multi-year G20 objectives, and with the even more ambitious UN SDGs to which the G20 process is so often linked, quickly recognizes that many if not most of these objectives cannot be achieved without heavy lifting coming from religious communities around the world. Macro goals cannot succeed without micro-implementation, and it is religious communities that are often best placed to facilitate advances in reduction of poverty, hunger, provision of health care and education, promotion of decent work and equal treatment, and so on through the list of the SDGs. Religious communities cultivate the altruism, the moral conscience, and the practical organizational modalities that can be critical to achieving key global objectives. Yet without firm protections for freedom of religion or belief, much of the potential of religious communities will go unrealized. Religious leaders and institutions can be restricted in their ability to make a wide range of social contributions, from peacebuilding to providing health care and education to pioneering in the achievement of countless other social goods. This session will explore the linkages, both direct and indirect, between protecting freedom of religion or belief and achieving other global objectives, including strengthening of human rights protections more generally. Chair: Adalberto Rodriguez Giavarini, T20 Co-Chair; President, Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI), Argentina. Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Quorum of Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, USA.
Lorena Rios, Advisor in religious freedom and of cults, Colombia. Elena Lopez Ruf, Coordinator for “Religion and Development”, Centro Ecuménico de Asesoría y Servicio (CREAS), Argentina. Rabbi David Saperstein, Former United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, USA. Ahmed Shaheed, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Maldives.
15:30 - 16:00 Coffee break
16:00 - 17:15 Parallel sessions first group Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel and Convention Center, San Martín 1225/1275
Parallel session 4.1. Faith and Finance: Religious Commitments and Contributions. ‘From billions to trillions’: UN agreement on the SDGs in 2015 was preceded by urgent reminders that the goals cannot be achieved and poverty ended without large and wise mobilization of financial resources. Yet questions such as ‘From where will funds come?’ and ‘How can wise use be assured?’ have murky answers. Unexpectedly to many, religious institutions can and do play significant roles in this area. Investments (for example through pension funds) and land and other properties can be managed in faith-consistent ways, communities can mobilize and deploy large resources, and faith
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leaders and communities can bring a clear ethical lens to the global dialogue about equity, profit, and ‘the preferential option for the poor’. The financial decision-making processes that undergird sustainable and equitable development are strongest when they incorporate faith perspectives and religious systems into strategic planning and policy implementation. This panel brings together practices and tools that religious communities and faith-based organizations have to make long-term and strategic investments with a triple impact (social, economic and environmental) and engage faith communities in the work for achieving United Nations SDGs.
Chair: Jorge Arturo Chaves, Director, Centro Dominico de Investigación, Costa Rica. Gabriel Bottino, Program Area Coordinator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Argentina.
Seamus Finn, Chair of the Board, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), USA. Blake Goud, CEO, Responsible Finance and Investment Foundation (RFI), UK. Raymond Van Ermen, Executive Director, European Partners for the Environment (EPE), Belgium. Christoph Stückelberger, Founder and President, Globethics.net; Executive Director, Geneva Agape Foundation, Switzerland.
Parallel session 4.2. Human Rights, Faith and Sustainable Development: Institutional Contributions to Global Priorities. Faith-inspired organizations are not tradition-bound, sclerotic entities slow to respond to global challenges. They are, in fact, dynamic organizations contributing to innovative work to meet the needs of those most in need around the world. This session will spotlight a number of major new initiatives that are focused on ways that religious communities can have major impact on global priorities. “Faith for Rights” has emerged in response to the Beirut Declaration and aims at strengthening connections between religions and human rights. It explores the many ways in which ‘Faith’ and ‘Rights’ can be more effective in supporting each other. “The contribution of FBOs to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda," a project being undertaken by CREAS (Ecumenical Regional Center) and the United Nations Development Programme from Argentina, aimed at measuring the contributions that faith-based organizations make in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It will also analyze the relation between religion and development, the religious perspectives of development and how FBOs could help to consolidate the Agenda 2030. The Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is finding more effective ways to develop cooperation with religious communities in designing and fostering development projects.
Chair: Héctor Shalom, Director of Centro Ana Frank, Argentina. Faith for Rights: Michael Wiener, Human Rights Officer, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR). “The contribution of FBOs to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda": Elena Lopez Ruf, Coordinator for “Religion and Development”, Centro Ecuménico de
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Asesoría y Servicio (CREAS), Argentina Paola Bohorquez, United Nations Development Programme, Argentina; José Oscar Henao, Economist, Colombia.
USAID: Kirsten Evans, Director, USAID Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives.
Parallel session 4.3. Women and Religion: Dignity, Equality and Empowerment. Traditional cultural norms reflect and perpetuate inequalities, perhaps most dramatically between men and women. These norms echo still in many religious institutions and practices, and are too often wrongly extended to non-religious social patterns that raise further obstacles to achieving equitable gender roles. This panel will explore areas where changing norms challenge religious communities (child marriage and domestic violence, for example) and where robust efforts to look to deep moral understandings of human dignity support girls’ education, efforts to end harmful traditional practices, and shared visions of family and society. It will also highlight ways in which religious communities make positive contributions (and could do more) to protecting vulnerable women, engaging women in furthering sustainable development goals, and contributing to amelioration of the situation of women.
Chair: Jasmina Bosto, Executive Office to the Deputy Secretary General, KAICIID, Austria. Kristina Arriaga, Vice Chair, United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), USA.
Carmen Asiaín Pereira, Alternate Senator ; Professor of Law and Religion, University of Montevideo, Uruguay.
Sharon Eubank, Director of LDS Charities; Presidency, Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, USA. Daniel Perell, Representative, Baha'i International Community's United Nations Office, United States. Rosalina Tuyuc Velasquez, CONAVIGUA, Indigenous Leader and Human Rights Activist, Guatemala.
Parallel session 4.4. Freedom of Religion or Belief: Challenges and Policies. For most of human history, different religious communities have co-existed in peace. Where co-existence has broken down, examples of successful efforts to repair these fissures abound. Contemporary trends that show rising threats to religious freedom worldwide are, however, challenging peaceful co-existence, with implications for achievement of universal human rights and for peace and prosperity. This session will explore issues of religious freedom in relation to the G20 agenda and provide recommendations on how G20 leaders can strengthen peace and prosperity by strengthening religious freedom around the globe.
Chair: Norberto Padilla, President, Consorcio Latinoamericano de Libertad Religiosa, Argentina. Ana María Celis Brunet, President, International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS), Chile. Thiago Garcia, Special Advisor on Religious Diversity and Human Rights, Brazil. Jorge Gentile, Consejo Argentino para la Libertad Religiosa (CALIR), Argentina. Peter Petkoff, Director of Religion, Law and International Relations Programme, Regent’s Park College, Oxford, UK. 30 DETAILED PROGRAM
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17:15 - 17:45 Break
17:45 - 19:00 Parallel sessions second group Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel and Convention Center, San Martín 1225/1275.
Parallel session 4.5. Religious Actors Addressing Religion and Violence. Contemporary social forces, including new technologies and rapid social and economic change, multiply both opportunities and conflicts. After decades where ancient hopes for peace seemed within grasp, conflict is on the rise. Extremism, often couched as religious ideology, reflects deep social anxieties and dreams. It defies simple solutions as it disrupts lives. Understanding and framing responses to violent movements demands a deep understanding of how religious forces are involved with modern politics and society and an active, creative involvement of religious actors. This session will explore why the concept of Countering Violent Extremism is contentious and how G20 leaders and communities can best respond. Chair: Katherine Marshall, Senior Fellow, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Georgetown University, USA.
Patrice Brodeur, Senior Advisor, KAICIID, Canada. Nancy Falcón, Consejo Argentino para la Libertad Religiosa (CALIR), Argentina.
Cynthia Hotton, Consejo Argentino para la Libertad Religiosa (CALIR), Argentina. James Patton, President/CEO, International Center for Religion & Diplomacy (ICRD), USA. Brendan Scannell. Board Director, International Shinto Foundation (ISF), Ireland.
Parallel session 4.6. In the Line of Fire: Funding Essential Humanitarian Relief in Conflict Zones. Faith-based organizations are often the last bastion of humanitarian service delivery in conflict and volatile contexts and therefore need reliable access to financial services. However, often these same organizations are considered to be funding risks because they are operating in the vicinity of the terrorist groups/violent extremists driving the conflict. This panel brings together a number of faith-based organizations from around the world to provide recommendations on: ‘How can G20 leaders work to assure that essential funding reaches the most vulnerable and needy in conflict zones? What financial instruments and legislation are needed to ensure transparency and responsible use of funds for these humanitarian operations?’ Chair: Stephanie Hochstetter, Director for the Rome-based Agencies and Committee on World Food Security, World Food Programme, Italy
Sharif Aly, CEO, Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA). Ton Groeneweg, Programme Officer for Asia, Mensen mit een Missie, Netherlands.
Rawaad Mahyub, Executive Director, The Humanitarian Forum, UK. Lia van Broekhoven, Co-founder and Executive Director, Human Security Collective (HSC), Netherlands.
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Parallel session 4.7. Despise Not My Youth: International Youth Interfaith Leadership. Islamic Relief USA is the principal sponsor of this panel. Achievement of the UN SDGs is a monumental task, requiring contributions and collaborations from a wide spectrum of sectorial partners around the world. However, often lost in the discussions is the need for intergenerational collaborations. Instead of passive recipients of care, in reality youth are active and essential agents in leading local and global efforts to build peace, strengthen development and reach the most vulnerable in our communities. They are crucial collaborators, because their communications models, specific themes, and unique approaches to dialogue are novel resources for this global task. This panel brings together some of the most practiced, connected and visionary young interfaith leaders from across the globe to share their experiences, insights and recommendations to the world. Chair: Maria Eugenia Crespo, Director of Cooperation Circle Support, United Religions Initiative (URI), Argentina.
Diversity Network, Argentina. Raquel Bennett, Representative, A Common Word Among the Youth (ACWAY) Abbas Panakkal, Director of International Relations, Ma’din Academy, India Sara Rahim, Representative, A Common Word Among the Youth (ACWAY), USA.
Carolina Yagas, Representative, A Common Word Among the Youth (ACWAY), Argentina.
Parallel session 4.8: Religious Literacy on the Global Stage: Roles and Responsibilities of Education and Media Institutions. One objective of the G20 Interfaith Forum is to underscore the need and value of partnerships among governments and secular institutions with religious communities and faith-inspired organisations to achieve UN SDGs and G20 economic objectives. Underpinning successful partnerships are mutual respect and understanding generated by high levels of religious literacy and intercultural understanding. This panel brings together eminent journalists and educators from around the world who critically examine the role Education and Media play, for better or worse, in creating religiously literate citizens and building peaceful, cohesive societies in their respective countries. Their experiences may inspire or be adapted for other G20 contexts. Chair: Andrew West, Presenter, The Religion & Ethics Report, ABC Radio National, Australia.
Rabbi Silvina Chemen, Kehilat Bet El, Argentina.
Zahra Jamal, Associate Director, Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance, USA. Gustavo Magdalena, Executive Director, Federación de Asociaciones Educativas Religiosas de Argentina (FAERA), Argentina.
Venus Khalessi, Director of Media Relations Australian Baha’i Community, Australia. Ivan Petrella, Director of Programa Argentina 2030, Jefatura de Gabinete de Ministros de la Nación, Argentina. Bhavaya Srivastava, Founding Member, International Association for Religion Journalists (IARJ), India.
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28 Friday, 28 September 2018.
8:30 - 10:00 Fifth Plenary Session Advancing the Work of Religiously-Affiliated Humanitarian Organizations. Faith-inspired organizations operate in every world region and in every sector. But nowhere is their work more vital for world peace and human dignity than in situations of crisis and in the effort to ensure that indeed no one is left behind. Leaders from several of the world’s leading organizations will highlight their perspectives on global efforts to respond to the demands of humanitarian crises today. Is the humanitarian system simply overstretched financially and in terms of capacity, or are bold new ideas available? What experience can this distinctive group of actors and institutions bring and how, within the G20 and interfaith frameworks, can their learning and wisdom be translated into better practice? Are there concrete recommendations they wish to bring to the attention of G20 leaders? Chair: Fr. Augusto Zampini, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Holy See. Jonathan Duffy, President, Adventist Development and Relief Association, USA. Sharon Eubank, LDS Charities; Presidency, Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, USA. Humberto Ortiz Roca, Latin American Council of Bishops, CELAM, Caritas Latin America Secretary, (SELACC). Carlos Rauda, Latin America Representative, ACT Alliance, Argentina. Christina Tobias-Nahi, Director of Public Affairs, Islamic Relief USA.
10:00 - 10:30 Break
10:30 - 12:00 Sixth Plenary Session Religion, Public Sector Partnerships, and Building Synergies for Sustainable Development. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer a scaffold for global action and demand a deeply ingrained appreciation for complex linkages among sectors and communities. The Interfaith Forum responds to the call for creative partnership, in its efforts to draw on the rich array of networks that seek to engage and link religious communities to these global agendas. The overarching purpose of the G20 Interfaith Forum is to bring experts together from the domains of religion, civil society, government and academia to develop deeper understanding and recommendations of ways that religion can contribute to global G20 objectives. This session will be both retrospective and prospective. It will reflect on common themes addressed during the forum, notably the central challenges of inequalities, social malaise and conflict, modernizing governance, and focusing sharply on those who are most vulnerable and at risk. It will focus on several topics where bold action is called for looking ahead, including religious roles on health, education, and protection of children. This plenary will thus help mark the path forward by identifying both challenges and promising possibilities for enhancing potential synergies among public, private, and religious initiatives. It will explore better ways of building partnerships linking the public sector with religious institutions and interreligious networks. The aim is not only to highlight recommendations for the G20 Summit hosted by Argentina, but also to identify
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themes deserving ongoing study for future G20 Summits. The hope is to contribute to optimizing ways that religion can have fruitful impacts on global policy agendas. Chair: Miguel Ángel Schiavone, Rector, Catholic University of Argentina, Argentina Gabriela Agosto, Executive Secretary, National Council of Social Policy of the Presidency, Argentina. Álvaro Albacete, Deputy Secretary General, KAICIID, Spain. Kirsten Evans, Director, USAID Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives. Thomas Lawo, Senior Advisor, International Partnership for Religion and Development (PARD), Germany. Katherine Marshall, Senior Fellow, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, Georgetown University, USA. Silvia Morimoto, Country Director, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Argentina. 12:00 - 12:15 Musical Interlude 12:15 - 13:30 Concluding Plenary A Sustainable Interfaith Future. The concluding plenary will draw together recommendations coming from the broad variety of sessions at the Forum, emphasizing concrete policy initiatives developed in a number of the Forum sessions, but also noting recommendations for areas needing further study in preparation for subsequent G20 Interfaith Forum. In particular, this session will consolidate recommendations from both plenary and concurrent sessions organized under the auspices of the G20 Interfaith Forum Association and sessions organized this year by the Forum’s Argentinean partner institution this year—Etica y Economia. This session will provide not only reflections on this year’s Forum as a whole, but will help identify key recommendations to be sent forward in the G20 process and will mark the path forward for future G20 Interfaith initiatives. Co-Chairs: W. Cole Durham, Jr. Founding Director, International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS), BYU, USA; and Humberto Shikiya, Board of Directors, CREAS – ACT ALIANZA, Argentina. Farewell from National Government, Alfredo Abriani, Secretary of Religious Affairs, Argentina. Presentation Mussie Hailu, Global Envoy of United Religions Initiative (URI), Continental Director for United Religions Initiative (URI)-Africa and URI Representative to the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Presentation Recognition of Prof. Sherrie Steiner, G20 Interfaith Forum Special Rapporteur, for her publication on the history of the G7/8 and G20 Interfaith Forum. Reflections, Recommendations, and Commitments Etica y Economia Humberto Shikiya/Augusto Zampini, Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Holy See. G20 Interfaith Forum W. Cole Durham, Jr./Juan G. Navarro Floria, Professor of Law, Pontificia Universidad Catòlica Argentina. Brief Benedictory Comments from Religious Leaders. Musical Number Concluding the 34Conference. Brief Benedictory Comments Farewell from National Government: Alfredo Abriani, Secretary of Religious Affairs.